Twitter is a mystery to many business owners. More than one of my clients has created an account, looked around and told me “I don’t get it. It seems like a waste of time”. Yet many businesses and certainly many celebrity personalities find Twitter to be an indispensable communication tool they wouldn’t want to live without.

Whether you should jump on the Twitter bandwagon depends on a few factors:

1. Do your clients or potential clients seem remotely likely to be twitter users? If you market to teens the answer is obvious. If you sell hospital equipment you may need to do some research.

2. What do you want to accomplish with Twitter? If you’re hoping it will trigger an exponential uptick in your sales, think again. if you’re hoping it will give you a quick and convenient avenue of two-way communication with a large base of people, you’re getting warmer.

3. Do your customers use you more than once? If so, they may be more likely to want to stay connected with you by following you on Twitter. Let’s say you run a neighborhood cafe. Posting your daily special early each morning might give your existing customers the nudge they need to come in for a treat or remind them it’s their turn to bring the bagels.

4. Is your product or service something your customers would discuss with friends? If you offer a service that can be discussed comfortably between acquaintances you stand a better chance of “pass-along” activity on Twitter. We all love to refer a good service provider to a  friend but we probably won’t want to publicly discuss our parasitologist, bail bondsman or bankruptcy attorney – no matter how great he is.

5. Are you in a position to educate or entertain? The benefit of following someone on Twitter is receiving information and entertainment. If you can write tweets  that are funny, informative, newsworthy or compelling, you will gain followers. If you only tweet comments  like “We have a sale on Widgets this week”  then your Twitter following will grow more slowly.

6. Do you want to have a conversation? You wouldn’t gain many friends at a party if you just walked around saying things like “I have nicer hair that Sally.” and “I’m the best tennis player I know.”  In much the same way, those new to Twitter find more friends when they engage in conversational  give and take instead of just self-promoting. You may enjoy benefits you didn’t expect – like connecting with new suppliers or having an outlet for industry related questions.

A certain type of Twitter user can get away with a one-sided Twitter stream that is not entertaining.  Celebrities who already have throngs of slavish followers in real life can quickly acquire the same following online. But unless your clients already send you fan mail, don’t expect this to happen online.

If you’re still on the fence, consider this: Twitter is free. It’s easy to spend a Saturday morning exploring what your peers and competitors are saying on Twitter. You might just  find a conversation you want to join.

More Resources:
Twitter How To: Learn more about the mechanics of getting along in Twitterland.
Twitter: Why You Should Care: Offers some good points on different ways to use Twitter for benefit.